Saturday, December 17, 2011

As we recently reported, Mogwai donated 2 tickets for their final show of 2011 (Glasgow Barrowlands, 22 December) and a poster signed by the band to the 12 Days Of Christmas auction to raise funding for autistic twins Ben and Finlay.

An update from Mike Stevens:

The two tickets were quickly snapped up for £50 but unfortunately the winning bidder is in Canada and can't manage the gig. She also hasn't paid for the tickets.

We'd welcome further offers for the tickets. Any reasonable offer acceptable. I see the show is sold out. The tickets come with a poster signed by the band and can be picked up at the box office at the Barrowlands.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Long-term readers will be aware that work has been underway on a deluxe reissue of Mogwai's 'Come On Die Young' album for some considerable time. This week's Chemikal Underground newsletter suggests this may finally see the light in 2012:

2012 looks set to be another busy twelve months with new albums from RM Hubbert, Malcolm Middleton (in the guise of Human Don't Be Angry), Adrian Crowley and The Unwinding Hours as well some high profile re-releases/boxsets, including Mogwai's 'Come On Die Young'

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Here's a very welcome Christmas surprise - Martin John Henry has kindly offered Brightlight an exclusive mp3 of his version of Mogwai's 'Cody', recorded at London's Union Chapel on 7th November 2011.

Martin recently released his excellent debut solo album 'The Other Half Of Everything' on Gargleblast Records. As part of Gargleblast's Xmas campaign, the album is currently reduced to £8 (CD) or £6 (digital)

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Various Spanish sites are reporting that Mogwai have been confirmed to headline Festival Estrella Levante SOS 4.8 2012, which takes place in Murcia, Spain on 4th and 5th May 2012. Magnetic Fields headline 4th May, presumably meaning that Mogwai will headline on 5th May.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Mogwai have donated 2 tickets for their final show of 2011 (Glasgow Barrowlands, 22 December 2011) and a poster signed by the band to the 12 Days Of Christmas auction currently running to raise funding for autistic twins Ben and Finlay.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Remember Remember are delighted to announce that they will support Errors on their UK tour in February 2012. The Glasgow-based seven piece will also support We Were Promised Jetpacks at Glasgow’s ABC on 16th December.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Male Cancer Awareness Charity, Cahonas Scotland has just launched a charity auction. Several high profile celebrities are involved, with a number of unique items up for auction to encourage men to stop being tongue tied regarding Male Health Issues.

Mogwai have donated a tie to the auction, signed by band members Stuart Braithwate, Barry Burns, Martin Bulloch, John Cummings and Dominic Aitchison. The little Mogwai young team logo was drawn by Martin Bulloch.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Thursday, November 17, 2011

A break-in was discovered at Mogwai's base in Glasgow city centre last Saturday (12th November). The scale of the theft has only become apparent today with the publication of an article on the Evening Times website.

Monday, November 14, 2011

On 11 November 2011, the first single MEIN LAND from the Rammstein retrospective MADE IN GERMANY 1995-2011 is to be released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The international release date is 14. November 2011!

The single will appear as a 4 track CD Digipak, as well as a 7″ vinyl with 2 tracks. In addition to MEIN LAND, it includes the as yet unreleased song VERGISS UNS NICHT, as well as remixes by BossHoss and Mogwai.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

On the weekend of the 25th-27th May 2012 at Alexandra Palace, London, All Tomorrow's Parties will present the second UK I'll Be Your Mirror event. Tickets are on sale via ATPFestival.com from Friday 11th November at 10am.

On Saturday 26th May, the first ever ATP festival curators MOGWAI will return to headline, and to curate the rest of the day's line-up - this will be their only show in England in 2012 and their first choices to play alongside them are another great Washington band in the form of the fantastic MUDHONEY, and playing their first shows since 1994 with their original line-up in anticipation of also re-issuing their astounding back catalogue, reformed slow-core heroes CODEINE return to the UK (more info on their reunion here). More of Mogwai's choices are to be confirmed very soon.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Martin John Henry, formerly of De Rosa and now touring in support of his debut solo album 'The Other Half Of Everything', performed Mogwai's 'Cody' during his set in Birmingham last night. Thanks Ryan.

After a brief but hugely-influential time away Errors return with ‘Have Some Faith In Magic,’ on Rock Action Records; their third album, it counts as far and away their greatest shift in sound yet, heralding in a sound of serenely cosmo-gazing sugar-tipped pop; previously hinted at with Spring single ‘Magna Encarta,’ a further preview is provided with free download ‘Earthscore.’

A group who emerged at the tale end of a period when anything purely-instrumental and guitar- based became lazily tagged “post-rock,” Errors have now distanced themselves from that loose genre so much that any fleeting comparison to it is now completely redundant. ‘Have Some Faith In Magic’ is an LP of sprawling pop, with delicious hooks applied liberally across post-electro scatterings; a complete turn away from previously lauded albums ‘It’s Not Something But It Is Like Whatever,’ and last year’s ‘Come Down With Me’ – not least with vocals now being included prominently for the first time.

“It was just something that naturally happened,” comments the group’s Steev Livingstone, “we had the idea to put vocals in the music a while ago but we always intended that they should be treated as another instrument. We’ve used them in a way that sits really naturally so the music and the vocals don’t feel like separate entities.”

Fresh from a summer supporting label mates (and bosses) Mogwai in the US, Errors can announce that they’ll again be supporting the band at a dual homecoming gig at Glasgow’s famous Barrowlands on December 22nd with a headlining tour taking place in February. Errors’ fans have long had their faith rewarded by the band; their third album only looks set to continue that trends.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

According to unconfirmed initial reports, Mogwai took advantage of touring with Gruff Rhys to return Rock Action's 'Dial : Revenge' to the setlist at last night's Barcelona show. This is the first time the song has been played live since 2006 (unless it was played in Zaragoza on Thursday - anyone seen a setlist for that one?)

Mogwai have further shows with Gruff Rhys in Germany over the next few days, so hopefully it'll get played again.

Update - prior to this week, Dial:Revenge has been played live seven times, five times in 2001 and twice in 2006. Last live performance was at the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan, 30th July 2006

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Spicy Entertainment and Mogwai regret to announce that the Greek shows scheduled for Friday, 21st of October 2011 in Athens and Saturday, 22nd of October 2011 in Thessaloniki will not take place, due to the air traffic control strike which makes the transportation of the band and its equipment to Greece impossible in time for the shows.

Rescheduled dates will be announced soon.

We kindly ask ticket buyers to hold onto their purchased tickets as they will be valid for the rescheduled dates.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Taking into deep consideration the difficult financial times that Greece is going through, MOGWAI, have decided to reduce their artist fee for the Greek shows in order for the price of the concert tickets to be reduced as well. As a result of this decision, SPICY ENTERTAINMENT, announces the following new ticket prices: For the Athens show at Fuzz Club on October 21st 2011: 28euro on presale and 35euro walk upFor the Thessaloniki show at Block 33 on October 22nd 2011: 28euro on presale and 33euro walk up.

Buyers who have already purchased tickets for the Greek shows with the previous prices ( Athens: 30 euro // 35euro and Thessaloniki: 33euro) should hold onto these tickets and present them at the club’s box office on showday (i.e. at Fuzz Club for the Athens show and at Block 33 for the Thessaloniki show)in order for them to receive the relevant refund”.

We wish to thank all our Greek fans for their support and look forward to seeing them soon at our shows in Athens and Thessaloniki.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Thanks to Andy for passing on several Mogwai reviews and interviews published in the Glasgow Guardian in the late 1990s. First up, a review of Mogwai's last show of 1997, a homecoming date at The Arches in Glasgow.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Martin John Henry, former De Rosa singer, has his debut solo album 'The Other Half Of Everything' released by Gargleblast Records on 10th October. 'The Other Half Remixes EP' follows on 17th October, featuring reworkings of Henry’s songs by Mogwai, Human Don’t Be Angry (Malcolm Middleton) and Miaoux Miaoux. The ep is download-only and will be available here:http://gargleblastrecords.bandcamp.com/

Mogwai have also remixed Laki Mera's 'Crater'. The mix is available as a download in exchange for access to all your personal data for a 'Like' on Facebook here:http://www.facebook.com/lakimeramusic

Monday, September 26, 2011

Remember Remember's second album, The Quickening is out today (26th September) on Rock Action Records.

Recorded in early 2011 at Chem 19 Studios, Scotland against a background of tumultuous global events, The Quickening sees Remember Remember return with the same seven piece group heard on last year’s “RR Scorpii” EP – Graeme J.D. Ronald, Andy Brown, James Swinburne, Joanne Murtagh, Joseph Quimby, Steven Kane and Tommy Stuart – further embellished on the second full length by the nylon string guitar talents of R.M. Hubbert and a full string quartet.

Remember Remember have moved their base of operations into the playroom of a disused primary school in Glasgow’s South Side, and while The Quickening is still a playful, colourful record, a lot of the toys have gone and the music dives deeper into darker, psychedelic territories hinted at on “RR Scorpii”; Pagan waltzes, apocalyptic Egyptian surf and Middle Eastern modes mingle with sombre pianos and bleak string interludes, concluding, however, with a duo of songs – ‘One Happier’ and ‘John Candy’ – both bittersweet and stratospheric , creating an ending made of pure, bright light.

The Quickening is their first album since the 2008 self-titled debut. In the interim, Ronald has helped on various projects at Green Door Studios including one where Glaswegian songwriters teamed up with musicians from the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Ronald eventually wrote a piece for string quartet and tuned percussion leading to him contributing string arrangements on Happy Particles’ debut album and ultimately giving him the confidence to include string arrangements on The Quickening. The addition of the string quartet weaves hypnotic musical tapestries, evoking a Pagan Ceremony on ‘Ocean Potion’ or a foggy celtic seascape on ‘Scottish Widows’.

Remember Remember‘s musical journey, which began as one guy on stage with a loopstation and a bag of toys, now finds them here with The Quickening, a powerful and exciting listen that promises live experiences just as thrilling.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

It is with the utmost regret that for medical reasons we have to postpone our American shows this week and cancel the I'll Be Your Mirror performance. We will announce new dates as soon as possible and apologise for the last minute nature of this announcement.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Anyone craving Irn-Bru can head to Das Gift, a new pub in the rapidly gentrifying Neukölln district run by Barry Burns, a musician in the Glaswegian band Mogwai, along with his Scottish wife, Rachel. Popular bar snacks include salt'n'vinegar crisps and Tunnock's Caramel Wafers.

Das Gift offers a large range of Scottish ales from breweries such as Williams Brothers and Brewdog. "The majority of customers who buy them are German, and they are very enthusiastic about trying them since they aren't very common in Germany at all," said Rachel. The beer is authentic but for one crucial difference. "I know some Scottish ales are recommended to be served at room temperature but summers in Berlin are sometimes just so hot and humid that a cold beer is necessary."

Five years ago, during SXSW, Chunklet put on a 20 band bill in two parking lots in north Austin. Two bands met and became immediate fans of each other. Torche, who were still a brand new band and at SXSW at Chunklet's request, and Part Chimp, the noise titans from London who were touring the States for the second time. And well, on that steamy tarmac, a love affair was born.

Almost immediately thereafter, we all started discussing a split release featuring the two bands, and sadly, it takes the pending dissolution of Part Chimp at the end of this year to make it happen. Yes, this is the final Part Chimp release here in the States and the penultimate worldwide.

Part Chimp turn in two scorchers, Dr. Horse and The Watcher while Torche send a love letter to the boys from Dayton and cover three Guided By Voices songs (Exit Flagger, Unleashed! The Large Hearted Boy and Postal Blowfish).

This, Chunklet's 9th 12" release, will be available only during the band's tour up the East Coast in November and here for a limited time. Edition of 500.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Here’s a fittingly autumnal video for ‘Scottish Widows’, taken from Rock Action-signed Remember Remember‘s forthcoming album The Quickening.

Remember Remember apparently write and rehearse in the playroom of a disused primary school. Seldom, frankly, has a record owed so much to the environment in which it was made. ‘Scottish Widows’ sounds like the Yann Tiersen-penned soundtrack to a film in which some terrible horror has befallen an orphanage. All the kids have vanished and there’s just a slightly battered little music box playing morosely in the corner. It’s about as bleak as it gets. Just as well, then, that it’s also very beautiful.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

At first, you can barely see the band in their press pic; can barely hear the band in their download. But relax your squint, adjust your earbuds, allow the darkness to open and the sound to spread, and Mogwai’s post-rock rework of married Portland ambients Mint Julep will become brighter and louder than you ever thought possible. Thick shoegaze textures, soft laser squelches, and enchantress vocals seem to savor a rainy day, embracing all elements cold until they're transformed into something warm.

Apparat is gearing up to release The Devil’s Walk, his first album for Mute Records.

‘Song Of Los’ is the new single from the album, and is due out on 12″ and download on September 26, accompanied by a remix from Mogwai. The Scottish outfit have been in a rich vein of form lately, delivering one of the finest LPs of their career in Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will and exploring chamber classical composition on their new EP Earth Division. There remix is full of their usual sense of drama, and transforms the source material while staying true to its melancholy spirit and textured production.

Anybody seen a setlist for Mogwai's Electric Picnic set? I believe part of the set was broadcast by RTE 2FM last night.

Right at the end of the interview, Stuart mentions that Mogwai may well be playing in China between the ATP 'I'll Be Your Mirror' show (2nd October) and the date in Mexico City (15th October), presumably meaning no further dates will be added to the US tour.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Despite the music, beer and general high jinx, continuing to support the victims of the Tohoku earthquake was still very much on everybody’s minds at this year’s Fuji Rock Festival.

Continued support in the North of Japan is still greatly needed – recovery from this disaster will take years not months.

This is why Tokyo Indie and the artists at this year’s festival want to help raise even more money for Tohoku. Whilst covering the festival we asked the artists appearing at the festival to show their support and to sign our Charity Fuji Rock T-Shirt. In the end The Music, CSS, The Kaiser Chiefs, Digitalism, The Vaccines, Mogwai, The Naked and Famous, Gruff Rhys and Noah and the Whale put pen to tee.

The publication of these dates marks a significant milestone for Mogwai. The sum total of the completed and scheduled tour dates for 2011 now surpasses 2006, meaning that 2011 will be Mogwai's heaviest touring year to date. There are likely to be further autumn tour dates announced in the next few weeks.

Not bad for a band 17 years into their career.

Update: this run of dates may also include Mogwai's first-ever show in Bangkok, Thailand. Further details tbc.

Mogwai's musical appearances in TV shows and films are so numerous now that I don't usually bother reporting them unless they're something out of the ordinary. This is a pretty substantial one I've obviously missed when it was released in 2007 - thanks Matt.

I finally got around to watching the very sobering and disturbing documentary White Light Black Rain and was very surprised to hear Mogwai tracks sprinkled throughout. I went to the site to see if you had it listed already, but couldn't find it. Here's a video still of all the songs they used from the credits.

"Benefit Compilation For Japan" is dedicated to the victims and survivors of the March 11th Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, and to those affected by the ongoing nuclear crisis.

All proceeds from the sale of this compilation will be donated to assist in the rebuilding of peoples lives and the recovery of the devastated areas. The proceeds will be split between the Japanese Red Cross Earthquake Relief Fund and the special accounts set up by the regional governments of the affected areas for the acceptance of monetary donations."

Based in Glasgow, Scotland, Remember Remember return with their second album, The Quickening on 26th September on Rock Action Records.

Recorded in early 2011 at Chem 19 Studios, Scotland against a background of tumultuous global events, The Quickening sees Remember Remember return with the same seven piece group heard on last year’s “RR Scorpii” EP – Graeme J.D. Ronald, Andy Brown, James Swinburne, Joanne Murtagh, Joseph Quimby, Steven Kane and Tommy Stuart – further embellished on the second full length by the nylon string guitar talents of R.M. Hubbert and a full string quartet.

Remember Remember have moved their base of operations into the playroom of a disused primary school in Glasgow’s South Side, and while The Quickening is still a playful, colourful record, a lot of the toys have gone and the music dives deeper into darker, psychedelic territories hinted at on “RR Scorpii”; Pagan waltzes, apocalyptic Egyptian surf and Middle Eastern modes mingle with sombre pianos and bleak string interludes, concluding, however, with a duo of songs – ‘One Happier’ and ‘John Candy’ – both bittersweet and stratospheric , creating an ending made of pure, bright light.

The Quickening is their first album since the 2008 self-titled debut. In the interim, Ronald has helped on various projects at Green Door Studios including one where Glaswegian songwriters teamed up with musicians from the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Ronald eventually wrote a piece for string quartet and tuned percussion leading to him contributing string arrangements on Happy Particles’ debut album and ultimately giving him the confidence to include string arrangements on The Quickening. The addition of the string quartet weaves hypnotic musical tapestries, evoking a Pagan Ceremony on ‘Ocean Potion’ or a foggy celtic seascape on ‘Scottish Widows’.

Remember Remember‘s musical journey, which began as one guy on stage with a loopstation and a bag of toys, now finds them here with The Quickening, a powerful and exciting listen that promises live experiences just as thrilling.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Thanks to the efforts of a considerable number of contributors, the Mogwai gigography holds more info than anyone could possibly need.

But there's always room for more. If anyone attended these shows and can provide or clarify setlist details, please get in touch. Setlist photos are always useful, even if they're part-sideways images of Barry's keyboard list (see here)

Friday, July 8, 2011

Having thus far enjoyed a monumental year, with a sold out world tour and the release of the superb and critically acclaimed 7th studio album, Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will, Mogwai are ready to embark upon another chapter. The band are set to release their Earth Division EP, which carries four brand new tracks, highlighting a creative departure from the band’s trademark cinematic mantra of pulverizing, scorched guitar riffage, into a more recontextualised domain of hazy electronic distortion, accompanied by spiky wafts of violins, violas, cellos and double bass and jagged keys.

Earth Division discretely demonstrates another side of Mogwai’s stratospheric level of brilliance with its ever-rotating, hypnotic soundtracks that drift dreamy into force, while adsorbing into the paranormal.

Earth Division is a collaboration of barded guitar distortion and haunting piano, which might offer the listener something different, but it still carries the band’s hallmarks.

Earth Division EP tracklisting//1. Get To France.2. Hound Of Winter.3. Drunk And Crazy.4. Does This Always Happen?

Mogwai are headlining at this month’s iTunes Festival, at the Roundhouse,London on 23rd July and they will also be appearing at the End Of The Road Festival on 3rd September, which sold out in record time.

"Earth Division" EP will be available on CD, 12" and Digital Download on September 12th on Rock Action and 13th September on Sub Pop for North America.

Update - Stuart played 'Hound Of Winter' at his solo show in London on Jan 22nd 2011

Sunday, July 3, 2011

As previously reported, Mogwai headline the festival on Saturday 23rd July, with support from Errors.

Thanks to Craig at Rock Action and Holly at iTunes, Brightlight is lucky enough to have ten (yes, ten!) pairs of tickets to give away for the show.

Update - all gone, thanks for all the entries, winners notified shortly.

Update 2 - all winners notified, and everyone else who was in the first forty entries. The last of the ten pairs of tickets went around 10.30am. Approx 160 entries in all - thanks everyone!

A - the first person wins a pair of ticketsE - the fifth person wins a pair of ticketsG - the seventh person wins a pair of ticketsI - the ninth person wins a pair of ticketsM - the thirteenth person wins a pair of ticketsN - the fourteenth person wins a pair of ticketsO - the fifteenth person wins a pair of ticketsS - the nineteenth person wins a pair of ticketsT - the twentieth person wins a pair of ticketsU - the twenty-first person wins a pair of tickets

Multiple entries will be disqualified!You'll need to provide a mobile phone number, which will be passed on to iTunes/Apple solely for administration purposes in connection with this event.

This post will be updated when all the tickets have gone. Good luck!

Apple (UK) Terms & Conditions:1. Prizes will be distributed to UK residents over the age of 14 only.2. Prizes are not for resale, and are not redeemable in whole or in part for cash. 3. Winners will be required to attend the Venue, with photo ID, on the day of the Event, in order to claim their Prizes. Doors open at a time to be communicated to the winner upon delivery of the tickets. Any winners who do not arrive by the designated time will not be guaranteed entry. 4. The Event may be filmed, so winners may be recorded and filmed, and have their voices and likenesses used in recordings and films for commercial purposes on a worldwide royalty free basis. 5. The management reserve the right to refuse admission to the Venue. 6. We will not be liable in the event that the advertised artist or the Event itself is cancelled.7. Winners must comply with all rules and regulations of the Venue. Failure to do so may result in forfeiture of the Prize. 8. Acceptance of these restrictions is a condition of entry.

The original broadcast took place on 23rd June. Given that the TV show was nearly an hour in length, presumably additional Mogwai footage was broadcast compared to that made available online.

Thanks Markus and Einzack

Update:"The Mogwai special was about 5'30'' long and was broadcast with both German and Franch audio streams. The content that's available on the ARTE web site is in fact additional "bonus" material that hasn't been broadcast." Thanks Markus

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Last night influential Scottish band Mogwai made their U.S. television debut on the show! They played the song "San Pedro" off their album Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will. If you missed it, you can still watch by going directly to it in our full episode player. Do it!

Unfortunately the full episode player doesn't seem to work in Europe and there's nothing on YouTube yet. If anyone sees a video online, please let me know.

Am I right in thinking that this the first time Mogwai have recorded a performance specifically for TV since February 1998?

Sunday, May 22, 2011

A big thank you to all those who've contributed setlists, reviews, photos etc for the gigography this year.

I've drawn a complete blank so far on the last three shows of the North American tour (Birmingham AL, Atlanta GA, Nashville TN) - anyone seen information on these three dates? I'm after something more reliable than links to setlist.fm, please - that site is worse than useless most of the time.

In similar vein - there must be other sizeable photography websites beyond Flickr? Suggestions welcome.

Mogwai's next two shows take place in Spain and Germany next weekend, then they have a well-earned break through June before undertaking a lengthy trawl around Europe in July.

Gigposters has another couple, including one for the now-cancelled Vancouver show:http://www.gigposters.com/band/4377_Mogwai.htmlAnyone seen any others? There are at least six others already 'out there' from this tour, but mysteriously absent online.

Mogwai are looking to keep the buzz surrounding their latest record Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will (their seventh studio album and Sub Pop debut) rolling by releasing a new EP in the fall.

“It’s finished. There are some songs that we did at the same time as the album that we didn’t really feel fitted with the rest of the record,” guitarist Stuart Braithwaite tells AUX. “We just need to get the sleeve and stuff and bring it out in autumn.”

“We’re not 100 per cent, but I think we’re going to call it Earth Division EP,” he continues. “That’s the idea at the moment.”

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Mogwai deeply regret to inform our fans in Vancouver, BC that we must cancel our performance due to unforeseen circumstances with our US visas. We hope to return to Vancouver as soon as we are able. All refunds will be made available at point of purchase.

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Fan reviews used to be submitted to Brightlight on a regular basis, but it seems folks are posting their thoughts elsewhere nowadays (in 140 characters or less?). Anything sent in gets used, so please feel free to drop me an email: rob-bl@youngteam.co.uk

Sunday, April 24, 2011

All being well, Mogwai's North American tour should finally start in Montreal tomorrow night (Monday 25th April)

For entirely positive family reasons, Martin Bulloch is unable to join the band for this tour. His place behind the drumkit will be taken by James Hamilton of Errors. Those of you who've been lucky enough to see Errors play live will know that James is a fantastic drummer.

Unfortunately, Errors won't be supporting Mogwai at the Montreal and Toronto shows this week. Reason unknown at present, and they haven't indicated that they won't be playing in Vancouver so presumably it's not an issue with Canadian visas. Anyone know who is supporting in their place?

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Fantastic stuff - make sure to find time to watch these. Interview snippets with Stuart and Barry in the first part, plus four full song performances (Mexican Grand Prix, Ithica, How To Be A Werewolf, My Father My King)

The 'missing minute' has been shaved off by removing a few seconds of beats from the start, fading out 20 seconds more quickly at the end, and by the removal of a couple of sections (totalling approx 35 seconds) from the main body of the track.

After Special Moves, a 2010 live album showcasing its best material, Mogwai is ditching the nostalgia and moving on to a new sound. The Glasgow band is often touted for the cinematic dynamics and slow-building instrumentation of its early albums, but recent releases have been more outspoken than ponderous. The new Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will might be Mogwai's most straightforward album yet, getting down to the basics of what makes this a rock band.

"How to Be a Werewolf" welcomes the listener with looped hums, but it's not long before heavy drums bring tempo into the equation. Atmospheric hums swell in the background against warm bass, as the song builds into a hypnotic drone of repetitive guitar phrases. Soon, a wall of distortion brings the music to a voluminous plateau while a piercing solo tears through the noise. At this point, Mogwai begins to feed on its own energy: The music's meticulous start has transitioned into a full-on jam session.

Mogwai doesn't milk the moments between these highs and lows, but the group's signature peaks and valleys are still here. They're just more concise.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Back in June 2008, we reported that Stuart had produced St Deluxe's 'After The Fire'

The recording is finally released on 16th April (which conveniently happens to be Record Store Day) on 10" vinyl only, with inner cover made from a record shop brown bag with an illustrated screen printed cover.

Tracklist:1* AFTER THE FIRE (PRODUCED BY STUART BRAITHWAITE)2* PLEASE BE GENTLE (PRODUCED BY CALVIN JOHNSON)3* I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL (PRODUCED BY DUNCAN CAMERON & JOE FOSTER)

CD compilation housed in an embossed, die cut case, containing 18 art prints with information about each of the artists and a folded poster.Includes Mogwai's 'Slight Domestic', the b-side to the 'Mexican Grand Prix' single. The only other place this has appeared on CD is as an extra track on the Japanese edition of 'Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will'

The new single from the dark Brighton-based trio features "Chorea" from the album, backed with two unreleased tracks: a remix of "Eumenides" by Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai, and an alternate take of "Corridors" used in Vice's Creators Project exhibition in London in December 2010.

The Esben And The Witch remix was originally slated for release on mp3 as part of a Japanese freebie promotional ep "Lucia, at the Precipice" - read our earlier post here. The other three mp3s were delivered, but the Mogwai remix doesn't seem to have appeared?

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Back from Strasbourg. I had to leave early (about 1 hour intoMogwai's set during "Lionel Richie") after I had realized that I wasactually losing consciousness.

The show had sold out in advance and - from my point of view - theactual capacity of the venue was exceeded by at least 200-250 people.People on the pit were packed like sardines in a can and, after awhile, there was no fresh air to breathe anymore. It only took about 5minutes until the first person, a woman standing to my left, startedhyperventilating and had to leave the venue.

Probably my last show ever at the Laiterie...

Update: Other reports from this show have been generally positive apart from the crowd congestion. 'We're No Here' was played for the first time this year as the last song of the encore.